A/N: Hello! I'm back! Sorry for the huge delay. I had so much work to do
for school lately that I barely have enough time to eat and sleep. T_T I
just realized that I had been slacking with this fic when somebody
threatened to kill me and burn down my house if I didn't update real soon.
LOL!
Anyway, I got so many reviews for the last chapter! Incredible! Thanks so much! WOW! I can barely breathe from excitement. Actually, that was my favorite of all the chaps I've ever written! I guess I left you guys hanging, ne? Gomen for that.
I also noticed that many seem to think that Azalea is Kikyo. Well, I'm so sorry to disappoint you guys (though a couple of people said that they would hate it if it were Kikyo), but it's not Kikyo. Kikyo isn't even gonna be in the story. I hate her that much, the slut.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings and on with the ficcy!
Disclaimer: Let's just put it this way: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic, ne?
SEVEN WEEKS
Human Rumble
-----/---@
"Yeah. I-" Inuyasha was cut off as they heard the sound of wood splitting. Kagome looked at him with horrified eyes and exclaimed.
"The door! They're breaking down the door! We're trapped!"
-----/---@
Inuyasha tried to push up from his kneeling position on the floor, his hands holding his weight. He stared more intently at Kagome's ashen face.
"Kagome," he began. His vision was slightly blurred and his head spun, but he tried to keep his voice steady. "The Tetsusaiga is blocking the door with its barrier. Those youkai can't get in as long as the barrier is there. Relax!"
Kagome's expression eased a great deal. "Ah, gomen. I panicked," she replied with a shy blush staining her cheeks.
"Baka," he said with a grin. Just then, a weak, rusty smell entered his nose. He tried to sniff around, but realized that he couldn't smell any better because he was human. Just when he was about to ask, Kagome let out a nearly inaudible gasp.
He turned to her to find her staring down in apprehension. He followed her gaze and saw what was bothering her.
"Kagome, your ankle is bleeding!" he said in sudden anger. 'How did she get wounded? I swear, I would kill the fucking bastard that did this!'
"Ee." Kagome said, smiling hesitantly at him. "It must have happened when that land youkai grabbed me while we were running."
"Land youkai?" he asked, then remembered the pesky monster that had tried to pull Kagome into the ground with himself. "Keh. I'm gonna kill that bastard once my powers return," he growled menacingly as he advanced towards Kagome. He grabbed her heavy bag from her and rummaged around, eventually coming up with a roll of bandage.
"Oh, those are my arm bandages," Kagome said brightly, motioning to her right wrist. Inuyasha came closer, peeling off two long strips of the white bandaging cloth.
Wordlessly, he took her foot in his hands. He pulled off her black shoes and looked more closely at the wound. It wasn't really that awful - just three short claw marks. One particular mark was deeper than the other two, as if whatever had wounded her had tried to dig its claws into her flesh.
He snarled, then took out his self-filling flask and poured water on one of the bandage strips. He was still a bit dizzy, but what the heck? He wiped the dirt and blood off her foot with that piece of cloth, then, when he was satisfied that her wound was clean, began to bandage her ankle, careful not to hurt her any further.
He wrapped the strip around her ankle, tight enough to stay intact, but not tight enough to cut off her circulation. He smiled as he took a once over at his handiwork, then turned to face Kagome.
Kagome was blushing heavily, twisting her fingers together in an attempt to divert her attention from the man taking care of her wound. She was staring at the floor, wincing as the sound of the frantic youkai outside their door became louder. Her wound didn't hurt as much anymore - not with Inuyasha taking great care in wrapping it up.
She blushed an even darker shade of red when he rose his gaze and met her eyes without any hesitation. He looked at her with a grin, and patted her wounded ankle affectionately. He turned away from her to put the roll of bandage back in her bag.
'Gods,' Kagome thought as he tried to put her things back in order. 'Does he feel this way when I bandage his wounds up, too? Is his how it feels to have somebody look out for you though it is not his duty? Why is my heart beating so fast again?'
Her musings were cut off when she heard Inuyasha groan. She looked over at him and blanched when she saw him holding his head in his hands, his face twisted in what appeared to be pain.
"Inuyasha, doushite?" she asked, then it her.
'Baka,' she scolded herself mentally. 'I nearly forgot how sick he was before we got here!' she thought as she neared him.
"Inuyasha, daijobu? Is your head hurting you again?" Kagome asked, lightly touching his shoulder.
"Hai," Inuyasha replied hesitantly. He had barely zipped her bag up when they heard another faint, cracking sound. Both turned to the door in alarm, but the door was standing as still as ever. Inuyasha was just about to sigh in relief when he heard it again, and realized that the sound came from a place much higher up. He turned his head towards the ceiling and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
-----/---@
Naraku stood alone in the middle of an empty room, staring out into the dark skies beyond his window, remembering the day when Kagome first tried to attack Kagura. He had been watching Kagura with Kanna's mirror then, and Kagome struck him very well.
-Flashback-
Kagura was using her fans on the small village, demanding that they give her all their useful possessions, when an arrow whizzed by her, nearly hitting her left shoulder.
"Who did that?" Kagura raged, raising her fans, when shock made its way to her face.
"Azalea?" Kagura asked as she stared at the beautiful dark-haired woman before her. 'How did this happen? I was just in the dome room this morning, and she was crying her damn eyes out just then! How..."
Naraku himself was surprised. "How did this happen?!" He asked aloud. "Azalea was in the prison dome just this morning!" He raged as Kanna shivered in fear.
"I am not Azalea, bakayarou!" the archer said, a deep fire raging within her glassy gray/blue eyes. "Watashi wa Kagome desu. I have come to kill you, Kagura!"
Kagura stared at the woman. "Me? Hah! Not likely. And what, pray tell, is your reason?"
"Remember a little town in the west? You destroyed my village and brought hunger upon our town! And now you have taken the princess and brought unbelievable suffering upon us all! After I am through with you, I shall kill your bastard of a master, to avenge the death of my brother Souta!"
-End Flashback-
Kagura had retreated then after being wounded by Kagome. But even then, as he watched the fight, he was positive that Kagome was trying to hide something.
That's when he started to form a plan. He was no fool, and being an ex- soldier of the imperial army, he knew that the princess would undoubtedly call for the aid of the legendary knight.
Kagome was beautiful. He knew that all too well, and he knew that the knight was supposed to be a man. Maybe if he sent each of them to meet 'by chance', they would come together? Maybe... but it just might work.
Nobody knows the end of the prophecy. The princess, herself, is only allowed to read certain parts every year, by law of Azalea primera. If he made the knight fall in love with the dixie liar, he could easily get to him.
And that would be a great advantage. After that, he could easily kill his unwilling accomplice and do whatever he wanted with Azalea and the rest of Crystallia.
-----/---@
Kanna ran hurriedly down the long halls of Naraku's palace, breathing sharply. There was a problem, and she needed to tell someone, fast.
Kagura was exiting her room just then, and Kanna bumped unceremoniously against her. The white youkai fell to the ground, and Kagura was just about to scold her when she noticed the frightened worry on her sister's face.
"Kanna, doushite? Is something wrong?" Kagura asked carefully.
"Hai. Kagura..." she began in a soft voice. "It's about the princess..."
-----/---@
The dark was unnerving Miroku. Inuyasha hadn't called the entire day, and he knew that it was practically ritual for the hanyou to shout at him at least once every day.
Sango was in her room, pondering what she could do, if there was anything, about the glitch in the portal. He could barely imagine Inuyasha's anger once he found out about what may happen to his world.
Miroku tried reading through all the other books in the palace library, hoping to come across something useful. But it was impossible. Nothing contained anything that would help them clear the void in the portal.
That settled it. Inuyasha would definitely kill him.
Inuyasha had not really been all too willing to come with them. He had said things about his school and his mother, and apparently, both were very important to him. If he found out that he were to lose everything if he stayed a second longer, he would freak out.
'Yup,' Miroku thought glumly. 'Better get some ear muffs handy. Inuyasha could get REALLY loud at times.'
-----/---@
"Nani, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked when Inuyasha turned horrified eyes to the ceiling. She looked up and gaped as well.
Muttered cursing was heard from Inuyasha as he fully understood what was going on. He turned to Kagome, his eyes hard as he practically blew steam.
"Those damn youkai couldn't break down the door, so they decided to crush the entire house, starting from the ceiling!" he yelled, and Kagome blanched in fear.
"Kuso," she muttered darkly. "Now what do we do? We can't just sit here and wait til the house crumbles!"
"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. "We'd better get out of here."
"How? The front door is probably swamped by youkai. The roof is caving in, and the walls are falling apart!" Kagome screamed in panic when one long youkai arm pushed through the ceiling.
"Don't fucking panic!" Inuyasha yelled in fury. "I have an idea."
"Well, stop slacking! Out with it!"
"If you'll fucking shut up, I'll tell you! The Tetsusaiga has some kind of barrier around it, right? I'll hold on to it's handle thingamajig, and I'll give you the scabbard. Listen!" he shouted when Kagome's eyes shot up towards the ceiling.
"The scabbard also has a shield around it. I want you to hold it up towards the ceiling while I pull the tetsusaiga out and try to push through the door. I'll take care of the land assaults, you block us with this scabbard. Get it?" Inuyasha said, handing her the sword's sheath. Kagome nodded.
"Kagome, answer me verbally, so I know you're still conscious!"
"Hai, I get it!" she said in a voice shrill with fright. She held the sheath up towards the ceiling where the smaller youkai were trying to come down. She held the case towards the offending youkai, while Inuyasha grabbed her arm with one hand and pulled the tetsusaiga out with the other.
As soon as Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga out, the barrier vanished, and he pushed roughly against the door, pulling Kagome with behind him. Man, adrenaline is really amazing! He rushed against the youkai blocking their exit, holding his rusty sword before him.
He can hear Kagome struggling with the youkai that were rushing at them from above and behind while he used his own strength against the ones in front and below.
"Why did I have to lose my god damn arrows?!" Kagome screamed in furious agitation.
"This is not the time to bitch around about that! You can strangle yourself later for that," Inuyasha shouted as he struggled with more youkai. "But for now, concentrate on keeping us alive!"
"I'm trying!"
"Keep TRYING!" he yelled as a particularly large youkai stepped before him. He dodged one of its blows and ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was supposed to be running to - he just knew that he HAD to keep running.
Kagome was keeping up with his strides, albeit with a little difficulty. Even as a human he was stronger and faster, but Kagome was doing well enough. The fact that she was in panic probably helped her keep up, as well.
"Why are they trying to kill you?! Why don't they just suck up your escaped youki and leave?" Kagome asked in strangled desperation.
"Bakero! They can't suck in my powers without killing me!" Inuyasha tried to elaborate but didn't think it was practical to talk about something so trivial at a time like this.
Inuyasha leaped up as an ugly youkai popped out of the ground right below him, pulling Kagome up with him. He was still dizzy, so when they landed back on the ground, he didn't land on his feet.
Inuyasha fell face first onto the hard ground, bringing Kagome down with him. She fell on top of him, and she felt his grip loosen around her wrist.
"Inuyasha, get up!" she screamed when she looked behind them and saw the youkai closing in on them.
"Inu, they're gaining on us! Get up!" She tried to pull him up in a panic, but Inyasha just lay there.
"Kagome," he began. "Run, onegai! Save yourself."
"IYA! I won't leave without you, now come ON! Inuyasha, please, I'm no Sango, I can't fight them! And I won't go!"
"Bakero! Listen wench, do you wanna die? Go!"
"NO!"
The youkai were nearly right behind them, and one of them raised a clawed hand, preparing to strike Kagome.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled in fright and anger. Much to his surprise though, Kagome clenched her eyes shut and raised her right hand towards the oncoming monsters.
Bright pink light seemed to seep out of Kagome's bandaged hand as she screamed. The strange light, which Inuyasha noticed was similar to the youki that she released in firing her arrows, shot out of her palm and straight at the demons closing in on them. The light burned away all the youkai that it touched, leaving only about half their original number coming at them.
That done, she clasped her palms together and started a very soft chant. Inuyasha stared at her as she whispered inaudibly, the light never leaving her hand and wrist. At the very last moment, just when the remaining youkai were about to jump at them, the light from her hand spread out into an orb of light around the two of them. The monsters jumped back as they made contact, the barrier's surface burning their scaly skin.
Inuyasha sat up and kept staring, his blurry vision fogging up even more at Kagome's sudden display of power. Never had he seen her doing anything like this, and why didn't she use that power in the first place?! She would have saved them a lot of running and exhaustion.
Speaking of exhaustion, Kagome was looking a great deal paler after the whole ordeal, and she collapsed on his lap in a daze, her eyes closing. Inuyasha feared for a moment that the barrier would collapse once she lost consciousness, but luckily, it didn't.
Some of the few remaining youkai had given up on them and left, while a few other much weaker ones stayed, clawing at the shield, getting nothing more than a few burnt knuckles.
Inuyasha stared at Kagome as she slept. She was so beautiful. He had to physically restrain himself from leaning down and kissing her.
'Is this love?' he asked himself in a daze as he brushed Kagome's sweat- dampened hair away from her face. He shook his head against his thoughts.
'Baka. You can't love her! She's from another world!' he told himself, a familiar pain twisting his insides once again.
'Why does that hurt so much?' he asked himself in frustration, staring off into the dark night. Her barrier kept them warm and comfortable, and he was so tired and dizzy, he just wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and curl around Kagome.
'No!' he told himself firmly. 'I shouldn't fall asleep. I have to look after her. She did so when I was injured. Besides, she had protected me, she refused to leave my side even when I was so vulnerable.'
* "IYA! I won't leave without you, now come ON! Inuyasha, please, I'm no Sango, I can't fight them! And I won't go!" *
Inuyasha smiled at the thought of her words, when something occurred to him.
'Matte... how did she know Sango?'
-----/---@
Sango sat up her bed in agitation. Inuyasha's world was going to crumble at the slightest mistake, she could do nothing about it, and her best friend was missing. Life is so fair, ne?
'Dammit. What would I tell Inuyasha-sama?'
She tossed in her bed. 'Fuck Naraku. If he hadn't taken hime-chan...'
She held back a scream of anger as she lay back down on her bed with an angry flop. This was all Naraku's fault! Now her best friend was missing, and she was miserable.
"Oh, kuso!" she muttered. "Kagome-chan, where are you?"
-----/---@
A/N: Well, that's it for chap 11! Wow, I can barely believe that I've reached 11 already! Doesn't time just fly by when you're having fun?!
Again, ARIGATOU to all those who reviewed my previous chaps. I am ever grateful! Anyway, here are my responses to those wonderful people who reviewed last time.
Reponses: (Email reviewers not included here)
LITWOLF689: Im so sorry... I just realied that if I did that too soon, the story would be boring. But I revealed a lot already, ne? Thanks for the review.
GUESHOO: WHOA! I'm glad you loved my story, but please, DON'T CRY!!! If there's a trait that Inu and I share it's that I hate tears. *Hands a couple of tissues over.* Here's the chap, feel better? And, I gotta hand it to you, one of your guesses was perilously close to what is really going on. Anyway, thanks for the review!
DROW GODDESS: Hello! Long time no see! Of course I missed you, LOL! Anyway, thanks for the review, and here's the update! Ja!
INUTORI: One in the morning? I could barely keep my eyes open at 11 pm! Anyway, thanks for the compliments, and I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review!
ANIMEGIRL BREEZY: Don't worry, Kagome is not Kikyo. I'd hate myself if that ever happened. I'm sorry if I confused you. Actually, my own story is starting to confuse me! LOL! Thanks for the review!
EDWIN: Hi Hun. I think I know what happened to your account: you are over your storage limit, AGAIN! Delete some of those horny messages and it won't be fucked up. Anyway, you bet I was wishing! Thanks for the review. Hey, where's my puppy?
SURFANGEL: Hi! I've updated! LOL! Thanks for the review!
LUNEMANGELUS: WHOA! You left me *counts carefully* SIX reviews! Man! That's a lot! Anyway, Nope, Kikyo is not in the story, so she can't be related to Kagome, and it can't be a replay if the Inu-Kik disaster. Yup, this is my first story. You're basically Asian, too? Cool! English is my first language because my parents taught me that before they taught me our REAL native language, for the sole reason that we travel a lot. Strange, ne? And hey, good luck on finishing your fics! I'll read them when I have time. Haha. Thanks for the reviews!
SMILEYGIRL322: I've updated! LOL! Thanks for the review!
VEGITO044: Whoa, easy on the capslock! Anyway, don't panic! You'll find out real soon, I'm getting there. Maybe next chap, if I feel like it! Haha! Thanks!
JUSTMEH: Thanks! I've updated! Thanks for the review!
TRINA: Hello Kababayan! Haha. I'm a major Inu fan too. My mom actually thinks I'm obsessed, and with the frequency of my visits at Comic Alley, they actually gave me a discount card already! LOL! What's your author name? I'd love to read your stories! Anyway, thanks for the review!
MIKOGURL: Hi! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review!
Well, that's it for my lengthy a/n! Again, thanks for the reviews, and please, read and review! I hope you all enjoyed this chap. By the way, this fic, along with my other fic, is posted on mm.org and aff.net under the same name. So there. Ja!
ScarletRaven1001
Anyway, I got so many reviews for the last chapter! Incredible! Thanks so much! WOW! I can barely breathe from excitement. Actually, that was my favorite of all the chaps I've ever written! I guess I left you guys hanging, ne? Gomen for that.
I also noticed that many seem to think that Azalea is Kikyo. Well, I'm so sorry to disappoint you guys (though a couple of people said that they would hate it if it were Kikyo), but it's not Kikyo. Kikyo isn't even gonna be in the story. I hate her that much, the slut.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings and on with the ficcy!
Disclaimer: Let's just put it this way: If I owned Inuyasha, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic, ne?
SEVEN WEEKS
Human Rumble
-----/---@
"Yeah. I-" Inuyasha was cut off as they heard the sound of wood splitting. Kagome looked at him with horrified eyes and exclaimed.
"The door! They're breaking down the door! We're trapped!"
-----/---@
Inuyasha tried to push up from his kneeling position on the floor, his hands holding his weight. He stared more intently at Kagome's ashen face.
"Kagome," he began. His vision was slightly blurred and his head spun, but he tried to keep his voice steady. "The Tetsusaiga is blocking the door with its barrier. Those youkai can't get in as long as the barrier is there. Relax!"
Kagome's expression eased a great deal. "Ah, gomen. I panicked," she replied with a shy blush staining her cheeks.
"Baka," he said with a grin. Just then, a weak, rusty smell entered his nose. He tried to sniff around, but realized that he couldn't smell any better because he was human. Just when he was about to ask, Kagome let out a nearly inaudible gasp.
He turned to her to find her staring down in apprehension. He followed her gaze and saw what was bothering her.
"Kagome, your ankle is bleeding!" he said in sudden anger. 'How did she get wounded? I swear, I would kill the fucking bastard that did this!'
"Ee." Kagome said, smiling hesitantly at him. "It must have happened when that land youkai grabbed me while we were running."
"Land youkai?" he asked, then remembered the pesky monster that had tried to pull Kagome into the ground with himself. "Keh. I'm gonna kill that bastard once my powers return," he growled menacingly as he advanced towards Kagome. He grabbed her heavy bag from her and rummaged around, eventually coming up with a roll of bandage.
"Oh, those are my arm bandages," Kagome said brightly, motioning to her right wrist. Inuyasha came closer, peeling off two long strips of the white bandaging cloth.
Wordlessly, he took her foot in his hands. He pulled off her black shoes and looked more closely at the wound. It wasn't really that awful - just three short claw marks. One particular mark was deeper than the other two, as if whatever had wounded her had tried to dig its claws into her flesh.
He snarled, then took out his self-filling flask and poured water on one of the bandage strips. He was still a bit dizzy, but what the heck? He wiped the dirt and blood off her foot with that piece of cloth, then, when he was satisfied that her wound was clean, began to bandage her ankle, careful not to hurt her any further.
He wrapped the strip around her ankle, tight enough to stay intact, but not tight enough to cut off her circulation. He smiled as he took a once over at his handiwork, then turned to face Kagome.
Kagome was blushing heavily, twisting her fingers together in an attempt to divert her attention from the man taking care of her wound. She was staring at the floor, wincing as the sound of the frantic youkai outside their door became louder. Her wound didn't hurt as much anymore - not with Inuyasha taking great care in wrapping it up.
She blushed an even darker shade of red when he rose his gaze and met her eyes without any hesitation. He looked at her with a grin, and patted her wounded ankle affectionately. He turned away from her to put the roll of bandage back in her bag.
'Gods,' Kagome thought as he tried to put her things back in order. 'Does he feel this way when I bandage his wounds up, too? Is his how it feels to have somebody look out for you though it is not his duty? Why is my heart beating so fast again?'
Her musings were cut off when she heard Inuyasha groan. She looked over at him and blanched when she saw him holding his head in his hands, his face twisted in what appeared to be pain.
"Inuyasha, doushite?" she asked, then it her.
'Baka,' she scolded herself mentally. 'I nearly forgot how sick he was before we got here!' she thought as she neared him.
"Inuyasha, daijobu? Is your head hurting you again?" Kagome asked, lightly touching his shoulder.
"Hai," Inuyasha replied hesitantly. He had barely zipped her bag up when they heard another faint, cracking sound. Both turned to the door in alarm, but the door was standing as still as ever. Inuyasha was just about to sigh in relief when he heard it again, and realized that the sound came from a place much higher up. He turned his head towards the ceiling and his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.
-----/---@
Naraku stood alone in the middle of an empty room, staring out into the dark skies beyond his window, remembering the day when Kagome first tried to attack Kagura. He had been watching Kagura with Kanna's mirror then, and Kagome struck him very well.
-Flashback-
Kagura was using her fans on the small village, demanding that they give her all their useful possessions, when an arrow whizzed by her, nearly hitting her left shoulder.
"Who did that?" Kagura raged, raising her fans, when shock made its way to her face.
"Azalea?" Kagura asked as she stared at the beautiful dark-haired woman before her. 'How did this happen? I was just in the dome room this morning, and she was crying her damn eyes out just then! How..."
Naraku himself was surprised. "How did this happen?!" He asked aloud. "Azalea was in the prison dome just this morning!" He raged as Kanna shivered in fear.
"I am not Azalea, bakayarou!" the archer said, a deep fire raging within her glassy gray/blue eyes. "Watashi wa Kagome desu. I have come to kill you, Kagura!"
Kagura stared at the woman. "Me? Hah! Not likely. And what, pray tell, is your reason?"
"Remember a little town in the west? You destroyed my village and brought hunger upon our town! And now you have taken the princess and brought unbelievable suffering upon us all! After I am through with you, I shall kill your bastard of a master, to avenge the death of my brother Souta!"
-End Flashback-
Kagura had retreated then after being wounded by Kagome. But even then, as he watched the fight, he was positive that Kagome was trying to hide something.
That's when he started to form a plan. He was no fool, and being an ex- soldier of the imperial army, he knew that the princess would undoubtedly call for the aid of the legendary knight.
Kagome was beautiful. He knew that all too well, and he knew that the knight was supposed to be a man. Maybe if he sent each of them to meet 'by chance', they would come together? Maybe... but it just might work.
Nobody knows the end of the prophecy. The princess, herself, is only allowed to read certain parts every year, by law of Azalea primera. If he made the knight fall in love with the dixie liar, he could easily get to him.
And that would be a great advantage. After that, he could easily kill his unwilling accomplice and do whatever he wanted with Azalea and the rest of Crystallia.
-----/---@
Kanna ran hurriedly down the long halls of Naraku's palace, breathing sharply. There was a problem, and she needed to tell someone, fast.
Kagura was exiting her room just then, and Kanna bumped unceremoniously against her. The white youkai fell to the ground, and Kagura was just about to scold her when she noticed the frightened worry on her sister's face.
"Kanna, doushite? Is something wrong?" Kagura asked carefully.
"Hai. Kagura..." she began in a soft voice. "It's about the princess..."
-----/---@
The dark was unnerving Miroku. Inuyasha hadn't called the entire day, and he knew that it was practically ritual for the hanyou to shout at him at least once every day.
Sango was in her room, pondering what she could do, if there was anything, about the glitch in the portal. He could barely imagine Inuyasha's anger once he found out about what may happen to his world.
Miroku tried reading through all the other books in the palace library, hoping to come across something useful. But it was impossible. Nothing contained anything that would help them clear the void in the portal.
That settled it. Inuyasha would definitely kill him.
Inuyasha had not really been all too willing to come with them. He had said things about his school and his mother, and apparently, both were very important to him. If he found out that he were to lose everything if he stayed a second longer, he would freak out.
'Yup,' Miroku thought glumly. 'Better get some ear muffs handy. Inuyasha could get REALLY loud at times.'
-----/---@
"Nani, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked when Inuyasha turned horrified eyes to the ceiling. She looked up and gaped as well.
Muttered cursing was heard from Inuyasha as he fully understood what was going on. He turned to Kagome, his eyes hard as he practically blew steam.
"Those damn youkai couldn't break down the door, so they decided to crush the entire house, starting from the ceiling!" he yelled, and Kagome blanched in fear.
"Kuso," she muttered darkly. "Now what do we do? We can't just sit here and wait til the house crumbles!"
"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. "We'd better get out of here."
"How? The front door is probably swamped by youkai. The roof is caving in, and the walls are falling apart!" Kagome screamed in panic when one long youkai arm pushed through the ceiling.
"Don't fucking panic!" Inuyasha yelled in fury. "I have an idea."
"Well, stop slacking! Out with it!"
"If you'll fucking shut up, I'll tell you! The Tetsusaiga has some kind of barrier around it, right? I'll hold on to it's handle thingamajig, and I'll give you the scabbard. Listen!" he shouted when Kagome's eyes shot up towards the ceiling.
"The scabbard also has a shield around it. I want you to hold it up towards the ceiling while I pull the tetsusaiga out and try to push through the door. I'll take care of the land assaults, you block us with this scabbard. Get it?" Inuyasha said, handing her the sword's sheath. Kagome nodded.
"Kagome, answer me verbally, so I know you're still conscious!"
"Hai, I get it!" she said in a voice shrill with fright. She held the sheath up towards the ceiling where the smaller youkai were trying to come down. She held the case towards the offending youkai, while Inuyasha grabbed her arm with one hand and pulled the tetsusaiga out with the other.
As soon as Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga out, the barrier vanished, and he pushed roughly against the door, pulling Kagome with behind him. Man, adrenaline is really amazing! He rushed against the youkai blocking their exit, holding his rusty sword before him.
He can hear Kagome struggling with the youkai that were rushing at them from above and behind while he used his own strength against the ones in front and below.
"Why did I have to lose my god damn arrows?!" Kagome screamed in furious agitation.
"This is not the time to bitch around about that! You can strangle yourself later for that," Inuyasha shouted as he struggled with more youkai. "But for now, concentrate on keeping us alive!"
"I'm trying!"
"Keep TRYING!" he yelled as a particularly large youkai stepped before him. He dodged one of its blows and ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was supposed to be running to - he just knew that he HAD to keep running.
Kagome was keeping up with his strides, albeit with a little difficulty. Even as a human he was stronger and faster, but Kagome was doing well enough. The fact that she was in panic probably helped her keep up, as well.
"Why are they trying to kill you?! Why don't they just suck up your escaped youki and leave?" Kagome asked in strangled desperation.
"Bakero! They can't suck in my powers without killing me!" Inuyasha tried to elaborate but didn't think it was practical to talk about something so trivial at a time like this.
Inuyasha leaped up as an ugly youkai popped out of the ground right below him, pulling Kagome up with him. He was still dizzy, so when they landed back on the ground, he didn't land on his feet.
Inuyasha fell face first onto the hard ground, bringing Kagome down with him. She fell on top of him, and she felt his grip loosen around her wrist.
"Inuyasha, get up!" she screamed when she looked behind them and saw the youkai closing in on them.
"Inu, they're gaining on us! Get up!" She tried to pull him up in a panic, but Inyasha just lay there.
"Kagome," he began. "Run, onegai! Save yourself."
"IYA! I won't leave without you, now come ON! Inuyasha, please, I'm no Sango, I can't fight them! And I won't go!"
"Bakero! Listen wench, do you wanna die? Go!"
"NO!"
The youkai were nearly right behind them, and one of them raised a clawed hand, preparing to strike Kagome.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled in fright and anger. Much to his surprise though, Kagome clenched her eyes shut and raised her right hand towards the oncoming monsters.
Bright pink light seemed to seep out of Kagome's bandaged hand as she screamed. The strange light, which Inuyasha noticed was similar to the youki that she released in firing her arrows, shot out of her palm and straight at the demons closing in on them. The light burned away all the youkai that it touched, leaving only about half their original number coming at them.
That done, she clasped her palms together and started a very soft chant. Inuyasha stared at her as she whispered inaudibly, the light never leaving her hand and wrist. At the very last moment, just when the remaining youkai were about to jump at them, the light from her hand spread out into an orb of light around the two of them. The monsters jumped back as they made contact, the barrier's surface burning their scaly skin.
Inuyasha sat up and kept staring, his blurry vision fogging up even more at Kagome's sudden display of power. Never had he seen her doing anything like this, and why didn't she use that power in the first place?! She would have saved them a lot of running and exhaustion.
Speaking of exhaustion, Kagome was looking a great deal paler after the whole ordeal, and she collapsed on his lap in a daze, her eyes closing. Inuyasha feared for a moment that the barrier would collapse once she lost consciousness, but luckily, it didn't.
Some of the few remaining youkai had given up on them and left, while a few other much weaker ones stayed, clawing at the shield, getting nothing more than a few burnt knuckles.
Inuyasha stared at Kagome as she slept. She was so beautiful. He had to physically restrain himself from leaning down and kissing her.
'Is this love?' he asked himself in a daze as he brushed Kagome's sweat- dampened hair away from her face. He shook his head against his thoughts.
'Baka. You can't love her! She's from another world!' he told himself, a familiar pain twisting his insides once again.
'Why does that hurt so much?' he asked himself in frustration, staring off into the dark night. Her barrier kept them warm and comfortable, and he was so tired and dizzy, he just wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and curl around Kagome.
'No!' he told himself firmly. 'I shouldn't fall asleep. I have to look after her. She did so when I was injured. Besides, she had protected me, she refused to leave my side even when I was so vulnerable.'
* "IYA! I won't leave without you, now come ON! Inuyasha, please, I'm no Sango, I can't fight them! And I won't go!" *
Inuyasha smiled at the thought of her words, when something occurred to him.
'Matte... how did she know Sango?'
-----/---@
Sango sat up her bed in agitation. Inuyasha's world was going to crumble at the slightest mistake, she could do nothing about it, and her best friend was missing. Life is so fair, ne?
'Dammit. What would I tell Inuyasha-sama?'
She tossed in her bed. 'Fuck Naraku. If he hadn't taken hime-chan...'
She held back a scream of anger as she lay back down on her bed with an angry flop. This was all Naraku's fault! Now her best friend was missing, and she was miserable.
"Oh, kuso!" she muttered. "Kagome-chan, where are you?"
-----/---@
A/N: Well, that's it for chap 11! Wow, I can barely believe that I've reached 11 already! Doesn't time just fly by when you're having fun?!
Again, ARIGATOU to all those who reviewed my previous chaps. I am ever grateful! Anyway, here are my responses to those wonderful people who reviewed last time.
Reponses: (Email reviewers not included here)
LITWOLF689: Im so sorry... I just realied that if I did that too soon, the story would be boring. But I revealed a lot already, ne? Thanks for the review.
GUESHOO: WHOA! I'm glad you loved my story, but please, DON'T CRY!!! If there's a trait that Inu and I share it's that I hate tears. *Hands a couple of tissues over.* Here's the chap, feel better? And, I gotta hand it to you, one of your guesses was perilously close to what is really going on. Anyway, thanks for the review!
DROW GODDESS: Hello! Long time no see! Of course I missed you, LOL! Anyway, thanks for the review, and here's the update! Ja!
INUTORI: One in the morning? I could barely keep my eyes open at 11 pm! Anyway, thanks for the compliments, and I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for the review!
ANIMEGIRL BREEZY: Don't worry, Kagome is not Kikyo. I'd hate myself if that ever happened. I'm sorry if I confused you. Actually, my own story is starting to confuse me! LOL! Thanks for the review!
EDWIN: Hi Hun. I think I know what happened to your account: you are over your storage limit, AGAIN! Delete some of those horny messages and it won't be fucked up. Anyway, you bet I was wishing! Thanks for the review. Hey, where's my puppy?
SURFANGEL: Hi! I've updated! LOL! Thanks for the review!
LUNEMANGELUS: WHOA! You left me *counts carefully* SIX reviews! Man! That's a lot! Anyway, Nope, Kikyo is not in the story, so she can't be related to Kagome, and it can't be a replay if the Inu-Kik disaster. Yup, this is my first story. You're basically Asian, too? Cool! English is my first language because my parents taught me that before they taught me our REAL native language, for the sole reason that we travel a lot. Strange, ne? And hey, good luck on finishing your fics! I'll read them when I have time. Haha. Thanks for the reviews!
SMILEYGIRL322: I've updated! LOL! Thanks for the review!
VEGITO044: Whoa, easy on the capslock! Anyway, don't panic! You'll find out real soon, I'm getting there. Maybe next chap, if I feel like it! Haha! Thanks!
JUSTMEH: Thanks! I've updated! Thanks for the review!
TRINA: Hello Kababayan! Haha. I'm a major Inu fan too. My mom actually thinks I'm obsessed, and with the frequency of my visits at Comic Alley, they actually gave me a discount card already! LOL! What's your author name? I'd love to read your stories! Anyway, thanks for the review!
MIKOGURL: Hi! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review!
Well, that's it for my lengthy a/n! Again, thanks for the reviews, and please, read and review! I hope you all enjoyed this chap. By the way, this fic, along with my other fic, is posted on mm.org and aff.net under the same name. So there. Ja!
ScarletRaven1001
